


Extinguish the Light

by Counterattack



Category: Genshin Impact - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blood and Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Mind Games, Survival
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-20 14:20:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30006201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Counterattack/pseuds/Counterattack
Summary: Twenty-six boys were abducted to a godforsaken island to participate in five rounds of deadly games.Only the winners will walk out with their lives.
Relationships: Bennett & Razor (Genshin Impact), Chongyun & Xingqiu (Genshin Impact), Kong | Aether & Venti (Genshin Impact)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter One

_Calm yourself._

Yet his heart beat so loud in his chest, thrashing against his rib cage like a bird attempting to free itself from an iron cage. In his ears, he could hear his blood rushing. Burning through his veins like hot lava, pumping his system with adrenaline.

Chongyun bit down on his lip, swallowing back the gasp that had already crawled its way up his throat, and pushed against his clenched teeth.

_Calm yourself._

Except how many could really manage to do that, when they were staring _death_ in the eyes?

Across from him, the snake hissed, its forked tongue darting out to lap at the air, savoring the scent of their terror.

Chongyun made himself relax, at least enough to loosen his death grip on Xingqiu's hand in the very likely case that they must make a run for it. On his other side, Bennett stood, his breaths fast and heavy, his legs trembling. All of them were trying to hold their composure...making their best effort to come up with a strategy out of this situation.

But _how_ did they get here in the first place?

The last moment of peace Chongyun could remember featured the three of them sampling ice cream at the exit of the aquarium. For their biology class, a school trip was arranged. Their nice substitute teacher took everyone to the local aquarium for a marine mammals trade show. After learning about the whales as well as the dolphins, waving at the otters, and appraising the jellyfish all day long, the boys were exhausted. Thankfully, they had a ride on the way. Xingqiu's older brother was coming personally to pick them up.

Only one tiny thing – Xingqiu's brother had a way with tardiness. Like a typical businessman, he always got roped into last-minute meetings. Today was sadly no exception. By the time Chongyun, Bennett, and Xingqiu were on their second miniature cup of free strawberry sorbet, most of their other classmates had already left. Luckily, the substitute teacher was willing to stay and watch over them.

At some point, Chongyun felt his eyelids droop. He didn't think too much of it – figured he was just more tired than he had originally expected. When he sat down on a bench, the other boys joined him. He felt Xingqiu's head drop against his left shoulder and Bennett's brushing against his right. Then sleep came, wrapping him in a tight, heavy embrace.

The next time his eyes opened again, Chongyun found himself in an unfamiliar environment, tied to a chair. He was sitting in a circle with some other boys. Being the first one awake, he was blessed with a few minutes to observe his environment without any disruption. He noted the salt in the air and the wetness of sand underneath his feet. A luscious green forest was not far from the beach, with foreign-looking birds jumping from one branch to another in excitement.

Chongyun counted twenty-five other boys. He was in the same outfit as his aquarium outing, except someone painted a large 'C' over the front and the back of his shirt. Xingqiu had an 'X' and Bennett had a 'B'.

So, the entire alphabet was accounted for. What kind of twisted ritual was this supposed to be?

Anxiety felt like a sharp claw, raking down the back of his neck. He couldn't help but start imagining everything that could go wrong from here and the knot of nervousness in his stomach grew tighter and tighter. Chongyun decided he couldn't stand it anymore – he needed the silence gone, even if it might not be a good idea to yell right now.

“Xingqiu! Bennett!”

Xingqiu remained unconscious, but Bennett came to quite quickly. True to his unlucky nature, however, Bennett managed to topple over, chair and all, while gawking at this new environment. The sound of him falling roused some other boys and soon, the once quiet beach was filled with noises of confusion and panic.

Chongyun frowned, his brow knotting as a group of adults finally revealed themselves. Stepping into the circle with pleasant smiles unfitting of the situation, they explained to the boys why they were here.

Indeed, it was just as terrible as Chongyun had thought – they were here for the sake of _entertainment_. The twenty-six of them were going to have to participate in a series of truly atrocious games. The winners would get to go home and the losers...well. This was supposed to be for entertainment and what was more _fun_ for the audience to watch than a struggle between _life and death_?

The boys protested at that, of course. At high school age, their real lives had just begun and nobody wanted to become a group of psychos' plaything. 

The first boy to spit at the game hosts and call them insane was knocked onto the sand by a blow so hard that it loosened several of his teeth. Chongyun saw the boy choke as one of the game hosts pressed her heel against the base of his throat, his face turning red as he struggled for air. "Who are you calling insane?" She asked, wiping his tears with a well-manicured nail before they could trail down his cheeks to join the small puddle of blood and saliva that had formed on the sand.

A wave of nausea hit Chongyun square in the chest. This whole situation...it was disgusting beyond his comprehension. He really didn't and _couldn't_ absorb all of the information he was given. A part of him thought...wished... _hoped_ that he could close his eyes and open them again to find them back at the aquarium.

“Stop hurting him!” Shouted by none other than Bennett, who was still on his side. He attempted to wiggle back into an upright position, but gravity was a powerful enemy. Bennett had always been the most courageous out of them. Under other circumstances, Chongyun would have been proud, but at this moment, he could only be afraid for him. "I said stop it right now!"

As Bennett wished, the lady lifted her delicate heel from the one who had spoken up. Freed, the boy quickly sucked in a precious gulp of oxygen. He needed that. It arrived right on time.

He was safe for now, but what of the one who had helped him?

The lady marched towards Bennett, her steps firm and radiating anger. Chongyun knew he must do _something,_ and fast. But what? He had never dealt with this type of situation before.

The lady grabbed Bennett by the hair and yanked him up along with his chair. It must have hurt from the way he yelped. From her pocket, the lady drew a knife. Thin-edged blade, sharp. She pressed it against Bennett's neck, cooing with bloodlust.

“Don't kill him,” Chongyun quickly said, trying to not yell because that might further provoke the woman. “If you...” He was making this up as he went. “If you kill us, then who will play the games? You need participants, right? It must have taken a lot of effort to gather all of us and...” Xingqiu would have done better with his words. He had always been the more persuasive one. “...Bring us here.”

The woman lifted a brow at him, her eyes dark and thoughtful. Chongyun swallowed but forced himself to maintain eye contact. His friend's life was at stake here - no matter what, he must try to save him. 

“You are right,” she said after a moment of contemplation, then, with a smile, she shifted the tip of the knife from Bennett's neck to his eye.

“No!” Chongyun screamed. "Don't hurt him, _please_!" Seeing his composure falter only made the woman laugh in delight.

This twisted...sadistic _bitch_. Taunting and tormenting them like this. It took considerable effort for Chongyun to push back the rage and hate that flared in his chest, and no doubt reflected in his eyes. It wasn't like him...to harbor such a level of anger.

In the background, a boy whimpered. Fear was infectious and soon, it ran wild. Some boys were crying, others were begging. The game hosts had successfully put them all exactly where they wanted them – desperate and afraid, or violent and ready to claw.

Unexpectedly then, a calm voice cut through the sea of negativity and chaos like a well-aimed arrow.

"How do we determine which games we will be participating in?"

The female game host whipped around in surprise.

Chongyun followed her gaze to a boy seated opposite him in the large circle. With a 'V' painted on the front of his shirt, the boy in dual-colored braids smiled. “You were going to explain the rules.” It wasn't a fake smile he was forcing. The boy seemed _genuinely_ at ease as he lifted his left leg over his right, sitting as comfortably as he could with his hands tied to the arms of the chair.

“Ah, _that's right_. I must not get too distracted now.” Releasing Bennett, the woman walked back towards her spot in the center of the circle. On her way, she kicked the boy who had spoken up first once again for good measure.

Chongyun breathed in relief. The game host's knife had made a bloody gash above Bennett's cheekbone, but his eye was intact.

Silent in his chair, Xingqiu still appeared unconscious. Chongyun did not know whether or not he should be happy his best friend was spared of all the horror, or worry because _everyone else_ was awake. Did they give him a stronger dose of drugs? Did they hurt him somehow? There was no way to check until they untied him.

The hosts continued with their speech and explained the boys would be expected to play five rounds of games each. Some games would involve all twenty-six of them, while others might only need a few players. Those who survive all five rounds of their games would get to leave the island. As for determining what game they'll play, the game hosts presented a box. It was a luck-of-the-draw type of situation – whatever game they pick, they play.

“Some of the games,” the host winked as she spoke this time, “are more fun than the others.” She walked up to the boy in braids and lifted his chin gently with her index finger. “And I am looking forward to your performance in particular, Letter V.”

“Of course,” Letter V replied, winking back at her. “I would _hate_ to disappoint.”

After that, they were untied and forced collectively into a cabin. Bennett silently joined Chongyun's side as soon as he was freed from his chair, still visibly shaken after what had happened. Taking his friend's hand in a gesture of comfort, they went to check on Xingqiu together. Both attempted to wake him up again, but it didn't work. When the game hosts barked at them to move it, Chongyun pulled Xingqiu onto his back and carried him into the cabin. The three of them, at least, must always stick together.

The boys were seated at a long table and treated to a hot meal. Shower privileges were also assigned out, and two at a time in alphabetical order they were allowed to go. A young woman dressed in white came in. She introduced herself as a nurse and smiled at the boys with both pity and sadness in her eyes. The boy who had the wind knocked out of him was taken care of first, then the nurse dropped by the trio's corner for Bennett's cut.

When Chongyun asked the nurse to take a look at Xingqiu, she did, saying his drug simply didn't wear off yet. There was something in her demeanor that suggested she wasn't telling them everything, but Chongyun decided it was best to not push.

By the time Chongyun returned from his shower and was ladling porridge into Xingqiu's bowl, his bestie finally stirred awake.

“You are okay!” A fuller stomach had restored Bennett's spirit somewhat and he snatched Xingqiu in a hug. "Eat, eat." He grabbed a fistful of nuts to add to Xingqiu's plain porridge.

Despite how hungry they must be, not many boys were eating. The first to pick up his spoon earlier was the blond sitting at the far left of the table with the letter 'A' on his shirt. He ate only the porridge in silence, eyes focused on the bowl in front of him. The boys next to him attempted to strike up a conversation, but he chose not to acknowledge them. Nevertheless, the fact he seemed fine after consuming the porridge set a few boys' hearts at ease, prompting them to help themselves. 

Letter V, the one who had gained the game host's attention earlier, surveyed the table and all its offerings. Tapping his chin with a finger while humming thoughtfully, he selected first an apple. Biting into it with a crisp sound, he let out a soft noise of satisfaction. “Aren't you guys going to eat?” He addressed the whole table with the comment before picking up a grape tomato from the salad bowl and popping it into his mouth. From that point on, he ate something from every dish and the boys around him filled their plates according to what his hand reached for previously. Letter V chatted casually with those around him as if they were on a picnic instead of being held captives on an island. People seemed to be willing to speak with him, after all, he was doing the poison testing for them.

“Brave.” Bennett nodded.

 _Or foolish_. Chongyun thought.

“Very suspicious,” Xingqiu added. “Nobody should be this confident.” Letter V either really didn't care or knew something they didn't. He would bet on the latter.

Another interesting boy to note was Letter R. That one ate exclusively meat and didn't bother with utensils. As if he had been starving for days, the boy tore into the whole roasted chicken. Someone protested this behavior with a _hey_ , only to earn a low warning growl. Yes, letter R actually _growled_ as if he was some sort of wild animal, protective over his food. Nobody tried to take that chicken away from him after that, and he ate with astonishing speed until there was nothing but bones left behind.

“Here.” Bennett pushed over a napkin for letter R's greasy hands and a glass of water. His kindness, unfortunately, was met with a piercing glare. 

“The police must be looking for us.” Chongyun topped off waters for the three of them one final time as mealtime was declared to be drawing to a close. “We just have to wait for them to get here.” But where exactly was _here?_

For the first game, the hosts promised something nice and easy as a warm-up. No need to draw out of the box, they were going to start with a game that involved all twenty-six of them, and nobody had to lose. 

The game was called Treasure Hunt and all the boys had to do was to go into the forest and look for a card. Those without a card by midnight would be eliminated. However, the hosts said there were twenty-six cards in the forest for the twenty-six boys, which meant every single one of them could survive as long as they looked hard enough. Also, while most of the cards were white, which only guaranteed its owner's safety onto the next round, some special gold cards could grant an advantage in future games. This was a little bonus, the game hosts said, for those with extra keen eyes.

_A fair game. Everyone could win together._

Chongyun didn't want to believe the game hosts, but couldn't stop himself from feeling that precious glimmer of hope either.

They headed into the forest the next day. With Bennett on his right and Xingqiu on his left, Chongyun thought this would be a straightforward collaborative effort to get everyone a card. He had not expected the traps, the poisonous plants, or the deadly creatures that awaited them.

The snake raised its tail, positioning to strike.

_Calm yourself._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading.  
> Please leave me kudos & comments if you enjoyed this chapter.  
> The more comments I get, the faster I write - this is a fact! ♡


	2. Chapter Two

Oh crap, the snake was heading straight for him!

Let's be honest though, was anyone really surprised? He certainly wasn't.

Bennett shoved his friends away from him to protect them against his cursed luck. Then, he ran like hell towards a tree, thinking he could use it as an obstacle. He was pretty sure a cartoon he watched had a situation like this and the main character got the snake to chase him around the tree in a circle until it tied itself up somehow.

Unfortunately, this was no fictional work and he had no protagonist armor. The tree did little to slow down the snake and when Bennett turned to check on his escape progress, instead of being a whole meter away, the snake was right there, with its fangs ready to descend upon his exposed calf.

“ _Ahh!_ Go away!!” His choir teacher would have been proud. Bennett closed his eyes and waited for the pain, and when it didn't come, he cautiously peeled back one eyelid, followed by the other.

The snake could no longer bite him, for its head was crushed beneath a rock. Its body was still wiggling though, so Bennett did not dare to move.

Xingqiu and Chongyun rushed towards him, but another boy was even faster. The one with the letter 'R' on his shirt jumped down from the tree branch above Bennett (how long had he been there for? How come none of them noticed him?) and landed quietly on his feet. Crouching down beside the straining snake, Letter R lifted the rock on the snake's head only to bash down again, harder. He repeated this process several more times until the snake stopped moving completely. It was messy and made his hands bloody. A few of the crimson splatters caught and stained Bennett's collar, but he didn't worry about it one bit. You see, all he could focus on was the fact this boy just saved his life!

“Thank you!” He grabbed Letter R's hands and thanked him in earnest. “You really saved me back there! I don't know how to repay you...” Letter R ripped his hands out of Bennett's enthusiastic snatch, clearly not appreciative of this unwarranted physical contact. His lips pulled back as if he wanted to growl again, but in the end, held back at the sight of Bennett's smiling face.

Bennett patted himself down, trying to remember where he put his treasures. He pulled out two different kinds of mushrooms, some berries (Xingqiu said these were safe), a handful of grass, followed by three bird eggs. Then, after rooting around a bit more, he found what he was looking for. “You can have this-”

“Benny, no-” Xingqiu tried to stop him, but it was too late. Bennett had already pressed the black envelope into Letter R's hands.

By noontime, around six hours into the Treasure Hunt game, the trio had only found two cards. One was up in a tree, covered by eggs in a bird's nest. Chongyun climbed up and grabbed it, then gave the bird eggs to Bennett for their lunch later. The other card was on the ground, lying in plain sight. Bennett was too eager and ran to collect the card before Xingqiu could caution him against such recklessness. It was a trap and had his friends not grabbed him fast enough, Bennett would have fallen face-first onto those metal spikes. It would have not been a good look. 

Though they had until midnight, this game had already proven itself to be difficult. A forest of this size could take days to search and with all the traps the game hosts added, it was dangerous. On top of that, there was also the factor of energy level. They were young, but after half-a-day of running and climbing, exhaustion was sinking in. At this moment, they should really be focused on getting a card for each member of the trio, not giving them out to strangers.

“He saved me though,” Bennett insisted, and his friends nodded, having decided to respect his choice.

Letter R, however, did not accept the envelope. He pushed it back towards Bennett and when the other protested, he revealed his own card, tucked inside his shirt, right against his chest.

3/26 cards accounted for. 

“Why don't you have lunch with us?” Xingqiu waved at Letter R before the other could attempt to take his leave, wanting to demonstrate there were multiple ways to thank a person. “We have water too.”

Letter R didn't speak, but he sat down when they patted the ground invitingly. From that point on, their trio turned into a mini group of four.

In a way, it worked out because Letter R really fit with their group...energy. The whole misfits united vibe.

Chongyun was socially awkward and spent so much of his time trying to be a good student/child that he didn't know how to talk to his peers or have fun with them. The first time he got invited over to Xingqiu's place and the other suggested they play a round or two of video games, he was ashamed to admit that he had never even heard of those games, let alone play them. Bennett, while not awkward, was the king of unluckiness, infamous around the neighborhood since the beginning. Chongyun recalled kids refusing to let him into the sandbox in their early playground years. Poor Bennett would watch them on the side, grinning as if he was happy just to be allowed to hover close. Xingqiu was a well-known bookworm, but with his wealth and consistent good grades, he really didn't have to be an outcast. Guess he wanted to be.

Small black berries were washed in the river and laid out on a leaf. One squirrel had lost its life to Chongyun's makeshift slingshot. He tried to hit a few more, but they all managed to escape. A single squirrel could hardly fill anyone's stomach, but they tasted great skewered with some of the mushrooms they found and heated over the fire Bennett started. The bird eggs were consumed raw and the only one who had theirs unflinching was Letter R, who introduced himself at the end of the meal as Razor. He didn't talk very much and when he did, seemed to struggle with finding the right words to express himself.

The fire they started drew some attention and for the first time, they saw more than just one or two boys passing by. Approximately eight or nine of them gathered in this area for lunch and rest. Some of the other boys asked to borrow the fire, which they agreed to. Razor didn't seem to like the fact there were more people in the area with them and watched everyone with increasing wary eyes.

“Chongyun,” Xingqiu pulled his best friend aside. “Give me your card.” He kept his voice low and their backs turned.

“Alright.” Chongyun handed over his envelope with no hesitation. “What's wrong?”

“I don't have a good feeling about this.” Xingqiu placed the envelope in his inner pocket. Out of the three of them, he was the only one with a hidden pocket in his jacket. It wasn't much, but one additional layer of zipper was better than none. “We should keep moving soon.”

On the other side of the forest, a fight was about to break out.

“Hey now, I don't want any trouble.” Letter V had both of his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender. “It was just a question. I didn't think you are _this_ sensitive about your age.”

Letter S swung his fist, aiming right for the braided chatterbox's nose. It missed, and so did his next punch.

“I'll apologize if that'll make you feel better?” Letter V kept his smile pleasant and his steps small but calculated. He stayed within arms length of his opponent, but always out of his fist's way.

“Shut the fuck up!” Letter S was panting due to all the effort he was putting into this unfortunate dance, and the fact his partner wasn't breaking a sweat irritated him beyond belief. “I am going to break your neck, you little twerp.”

“That sounds _scary_ ,” Letter V responded with a light chuckle, taking a step back to dodge the next hit. “I was hoping we can just put our differences aside and concentrate on the task at hand. The day is not getting any younger, you know.” He ducked for the last punch and used the back of his hand to tip Letter S off balance. It was a common mistake Letter S made, nothing to be ashamed about - when people focused solely on charging with strength, they tend to leave their sides wide open.

Letter S's eyes flashed with anger as he collided with the ground. Wiping at the soil underneath his lips and clinging to his chin, he prepared to launch himself again.

“That's enough.” A voice called out from the gathering crowd of onlookers. “Letter V is right, we should be focusing on the task at hand.”

Long blond hair, pale skin, and average height. Hardly a commanding presence. Those around Letter A did not respond to his words right away, but the instigator Letter S did. The two of them exchanged some sort of look and Letter S, who seemed physically superior in every way, dipped his head in a nod before taking his leave. With him gone, the crowd eventually dispersed as well.

Letter A turned to leave, and Letter V was right on his heel.

“Why are you following me?” Letter A asked without turning, his eyes on the road before them.

“Because I don't want to be wandering around alone anymore, of course!” Letter V hummed cheerfully, skipping along as if this was a friendly forest stroll. “What if the other guy comes back and tries to hurt me? I _really_ dislike pain.”

Letter A stopped abruptly. “You were handling him just fine.” He side-eyed Letter V. “How did the fight even begin? What did you say to him?”

“Oh, that.” Letter V's eyes curved into half-moons. “I was just making small talk. Asked him how old he was and he said seventeen.” He pushed the tip of his shoe into a puddle and flickered droplets of water into the air. “I asked him how long he had been introducing himself at that age for.” In the true popular teenage romance novel from the 2010s fashion. “Since, you know, he looked like he was...at least twenty-five.”

Letter A stared.

“Guess he just has a mature face for his age. Like some of the other _boys_ I've bumped into on this island.” Letter V's smile widened. “Nothing wrong with that.”

Silence gathered between them. A seemingly harmless conversation brought forth a wave of tension. Letter A's eyes held a question and Letter V's eyes gave no answers. Their gazes remained locked until a third person entered the scene.

Letter Z was one of the younger ones in this joyful alphabet set of kidnapped victims. Now, with dirt on his face and blood running from his nose, he was crying.

“What's wrong?” Letter V bounced over to his side and set comforting hands on those thin shoulders.

The issue was simple and one that was fully expected considering the nature of this game. As time passed and the boys drew closer to the deadline, those without a card might get anxious. Then, what would happen if they saw another boy who _got_ a card pass by? Letter Z was a good finder, but he was too small and weak to protect his prize.

“Don't cry,” Letter V ruffled the sad one's hair. “Why don't we do this – close your eyes and count to ten.” The kid looked a bit dubious. “Go on, I have a surprise for you.” That assurance was apparently enough to get the other to play along.

“You better not trick me...” Letter Z squeezed his eyes shut with one last sob and clasped his hands as instructed, then he counted. As he did, Letter V pulled something from his pocket. When the count down finished, the kid's eyes brightened at the sight of a black envelope.

“A-a-are you sure I can have this?” Letter Z's fingers clamped down on the envelope, hopeful but also afraid. “What do you want me to do? I don't have anything on me...”

“You can have it.” Letter V released his own hold on the envelope. “No strings attached, I promise.”

Letter Z was shocked, his jaw dropping. Immediately he opened the envelope to check on the card and sure enough, it was in there. Seemed legit too – at least to letter Z, it looked exactly like the one that had been robbed from him. “Wait, what about you?” Now that his own life was no longer in immediate danger, the boy was able to spare some worry for another.

Letter V's eyes softened at his concern. “You are a good boy,” he said, which made Letter Z blush a little in response. “Don't worry, I have my own. Why don't you go hide until midnight? There should be some good spots in that direction.” He pointed towards the river.

After a few more rounds of thanks, Letter Z decided to take the advice and leave.

“Do you really have another card?” Letter A, who had remained quiet this entire time, asked once they were alone and on their way again.

“Yep!” Letter V reached into his pocket. Instead of one envelope, his hand came out holding _eight_.

“Where did you get that?” Letter A asked with a frown.

“Oh, from the guy that was trying to beat me up earlier.” Letter V answered. “Don't worry, though, I left him one.” He winked. “Although it is a bit strange, isn't it? Why was one boy holding onto so many cards? How did he even manage to find all this when others searched for hours to no avail?” He looked at Letter A inquisitively, as if he knew the other could provide him with the answer.

“Beats me.” Letter A kept on walking.

“You don't seem all that shocked to see me with all of these.” Letter V picked up his pace slightly to catch up. “Maybe you are a naturally calm person? That is so helpful in this sort of game.” He pressed closer and linked their arms, using his weight to slow down Letter A's steps. “Do you have a card yet? If not, can I trade you one in exchange for protection?”

“No thanks.” Letter A tried to shake off this unexpected ball-and-chain.

“Come on, don't be like that~ I think we will make really good adventure partners. You have your composure and strong presence...and I have my...great singing voice.” Letter V was clinging on tighter. “I am especially good at singing lullabies. Put those who have trouble sleeping to bed, giving them _only_ the sweetest dreams.”

“You already have your card. In fact, you have more than you need. Why don't you go hide with letter Z until this is all over?”

“As you said, I have more than I need.” Letter V brushed back his bangs. “There might be more crying kids in this forest, hoping for a hero.”

Night arrived, accompanied by a waft of gentle wind. Behind him, Letter V was singing softly. In fact, he'd been doing that on and off for the past several hours now. Letter A should have been annoyed, except Letter V, true to his words, did possess _some_ skills.

His voice was sweet, soothing, much like the light breeze that tickled the ends of his braids. It was also cheerful, which reminded Letter A of a bird that used to perch on the roof ledge above his only window, chirping excitedly at him every dawn and dusk. Despite knowing he shouldn't, Letter A had looked forward to its little cheery sounds. One morning, it didn't show up and never did so again. Perhaps it had died, having reached its ripe old age. Or maybe someone had shot it.

The conclusion Letter A gathered from the bird experience was this – good things never last, especially the ones that made him happy.

Ahead of them, a struggle was taking place. There were seven boys in the scene in total, three bigger ones versus four smaller ones. The battle was quite evenly matched because the smaller boys had one extra person and were all rather ferocious. Letter X and letter C were both waving around sticks in a way that suggested they had some martial arts background. Letter R was using his fists only, but he was clearly the strongest out of his group. The one doing the most damage, however, might be letter B. That one was swinging around his makeshift torch and yelling _back off, please!_ The flame caught one of the bigger boys' shirt hem, causing the other to temporarily abandon battle to _stop, drop and roll_.

“Oh, I guess we didn't have to help after all.” Letter V commented.

As soon as one of their own was down, the other two bigger boys also stopped. Once they stepped back, the group of four smaller ones also halted. Nobody really wanted to fight, they were just desperate.

“Are you okay?” Letter B peered around his protective friends' shoulders to check on the one who was on fire, his expression concerned, but not necessarily apologetic. Fortunately, the other seemed to have sustained only a minor burn on his stomach.

Letter A started walking again, having lost interest in this situation. When he noticed that Letter V wasn't following, however, he turned around and waited.

“Who is missing a card?” Letter V asked, surveying the group.

“Me,” said one of the bigger boys. “I tried really hard to find one, okay?” He slumped down dejectedly, punching the ground next to him. “You think I would be doing this if I had any other options?”

“Well, you are in luck.” Letter V pointed up and everyone directed their eyes towards the sky. An envelope was there, hanging between two trees on thin, transparent strings. The black envelope blended in with the night and would have been nearly impossible to see. Luckily for them, however, the moon was out in full and its dull, silvery light illuminated the edges of the strings and presented the solution to their problem.

“Can I borrow your shoulders?” He asked his buddy, voice quivering with hope. The friend nodded eagerly and leaned down.

It was not enough. The card was hung quite high up.

The bigger boys trio decided to change strategy, this time involving all three of them. One of them was on their hands and knees, then the second one stepped on his back. The third person attempted to climb on top of them both to grab the card, except they toppled over. The three of them were too similar in size and it was difficult to carry one another, especially considering the long day they've had.

“I can try if you want.” Letter X, who was the most slender of his foursome, raised his hand.

Letter A watched as he stepped forward and replaced the third person, carefully reaching towards the black envelope.

“A little to the right!” His friend (the torch waver) shouted.

“Be careful,” added the other one. “ _Steady_ , you are almost there.”

See, people were always willing to help one another in the early games. Later, however, all of the friendships formed would turn sour. Perfectly innocent kids would turn from sweet little things to flesh-eating monsters. He had seen it so many times.

Everyone cheered for them, but their effort was in vain. The boy at the very bottom of the tower lost his strength. When he collapsed, everyone else did too.

“That was a really good try,” Letter V said, clearly wanting to encourage them. He was squinting at the card hanging in the air and the layout of the trees as if calculating something. “Hey, Letter A, come help me. Let's get this card for these boys.” He stepped forward and waved for letter A to join him.

“Why me?” Letter A raised a brow. There were many others available to assist and they were the ones actually involved with this mess.

“Because,” Letter V said. “You are strong. And I _know_ you can help me if you want to.” He locked their gazes for the second time today, emerald on gold. “ _Do_ you want to?”

Letter A did not reply, but he didn't stop letter V from taking his hands and putting them together.

“Strong stance, okay? I am counting on you to boost me up.”

“I am not sure if that will work,” interjected letter X, but letter V was already moving back and getting in position. “Alright then, Chongyun, do you want to support Letter A?”

With a nod, Letter C took his place behind letter A and supported his back.

Letter V ran to build momentum, brow lightly furrowed in concentration. When he stepped on Letter A's hands for his boost, he felt surprisingly light. He jumped up, his left foot finding a tree branch. It bent underneath his weight, but ultimately held and launched him into the sky.

Letter A watched – they all watched, as the boy with dual-colored braids back somersaulted towards his goal. His back made a beautiful arc with the moon in the background and when he landed, the envelope was in his hand. It happened so quickly, yet also effortlessly. He moved as if he had wind on his back, carrying him through this series of seemingly simple yet in reality, highly technical movements. 

Either way, another boy was safe from elimination. The sound of cheering was all around and a few happy tears were shed. It felt like a night of victory, but of course, it was not complete.

You see, there were still deaths. Of the twenty-six boys, five had died. Out of the five, two were mauled by wild animals, one was found drowned in the lake, one had fallen off of the cliff and one was stabbed nine times by a sharpened tree branch.

The surviving boys barely had time to celebrate with a smile of relief before the deaths were announced and the mangled corpses were presented. Once again plunged back into despair, the walk back to the cabin was a silent one.

How many of them would truly be able to sleep tonight? Even if they could, would they be spared of nightmares?

In a building far away from the cabin, a group of five sat around a table.

“Listen, it was an accident.” Letter S was in a comfortable-looking white robe, dropping ice into his coke. “I didn't even realize that little shit swiped the envelopes off of me until I was too far away.” He sipped at his drink. “I'll wire extras for the trouble I've caused if that helps.”

“It _must_ not happen again.” The game host lady who was in charge of explaining rules on the first day turned and gave letter S a sharp look. “You are a valued customer, Mr. Reins, but bearing in mind the nature of the games we run, we cannot _afford_ many mistakes.” She smiled icily, which made it clear that this would be Mr. Reins's only warning.

When the games began about twenty years ago, it was meant to only be a show. The audience paid good money to watch and could place bets on the final survivors. These days, the show had evolved to become more _interactive_. Should clients be interested, they could become one of the participants and join in on the fun. Only they would be given advantages and were at _far_ lower risks of losing their lives.

Normally, in the first round of the game, approximately a third to half of the boys would be eliminated. Besides the environment and each other, the boys were also unknowingly subjected to the added difficulty of a traitor. That individual would already have the locations of all the cards and work to collect them so the boys wouldn't be able to. The minimum number of cards the traitor must hide as per the organization rule was three, and the maximum was ten. Mr. Reins decided to go for the maximum, which meant they should have had a 50% elimination rate... _except_.

“What do you think?” The lady game host leaned over. “You've been quiet, little Prince.” She wrapped an arm around the blond who sat on her left and pulled him close, her lips puckering with the intention of dropping a kiss on his cheek.

“Focus,” he said, placing a finger against her lips to shoved her away. “I am working here.”

Letter A's eyes were on the tablet before him. With a light tap of his finger, the video that he had already watched six times looped back to play at the beginning. The camera angle wasn't the best, but it caught most of their interactions around the final card. He studied Letter V's graceful movements and pondered at his confidence.

“Nothing special about his profile,” offered the lady game host. “Just an average high school kid born to middle-class parents. No siblings.” She pushed a document towards letter A. “All of his records are here.”

“Could just be an extraordinary kid.” Reins added, giving letter A a very pointed look. “We've had a few of those over the years, hadn't we? The ones that excelled in all challenges and were determined to survive against all odds.”

Letter A ignored him.

“If these records are false, then whoever made them must really know what they are doing.” The lady game host leaned back in her chair, yawning. It was getting late and she, unlike the boys doomed to die outside in the cabins, needed her beauty rest. “No direct orders from upper management. This Letter V is bringing in a fair amount of views and already some of the higher clients' favourite. People thought due to the low elimination rate, game 35 wouldn't be as popular as 34, but the opposite is actually happening. Our audience is loving these boys.”

“He is a threat.” Letter A finally looked up from the tablet. “My vote is to have him killed, and soon.” He stood up, still in the ragged clothes he wore in the game. “Have word sent to upper management and check in with them. If given the go-ahead, I'll take him out myself during tomorrow's game.” He flickered a look of disdain towards Reins. “To avoid further _accidents_.”

Reins threw his hands. “Whatever you say, hotshot.” Then he turned towards the game host. “What are we playing tomorrow? Did someone draw yet?”

“Oh yes,” she replied, a pleased glint in her dark eyes. “It's a fun one – _Werewolf_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading along! ♡  
> Please leave me kudos & comments if you enjoyed the second chapter of Extinguish the Light.   
> Once again, the more comments I get, the faster I write. ;3  
> I am pulling for Venti right now, almost at soft pity, and need to win 50-50. Wish me luck - I am going to need it!


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